


Bearing the Burden of a Secret Storm

by asexualjuliet



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Joyce Byers is a good mom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:35:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21763852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asexualjuliet/pseuds/asexualjuliet
Summary: Of all the things Joyce is expecting when she opens the door, a beat-up Max Mayfield seconds away from bursting into tears isn’t one of them.
Relationships: Joyce Byers & Maxine "Max" Mayfield
Comments: 9
Kudos: 50





	Bearing the Burden of a Secret Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [broadway_hufflepuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/broadway_hufflepuff/gifts).



> I thought of this idea when I was supposed to be sleeping the other night. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also it’s loving Joyce Byers hours in this Chili’s tonight.
> 
> Title from Concrete Angel by Martina McBride
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Of all the things Joyce is expecting when she opens the door, a beat-up Max Mayfield seconds away from bursting into tears isn’t one of them. 

“Honey, are you okay?” she asks. There’s a bruise already beginning to form around Max’s eye, and Joyce can tell it’ll be a black eye by morning. “Sweetie, what happened?”

“I’m so sorry,” Max says, “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Byers, I didn’t know where to go!” 

Tears prick at Max’s eyes. She’s scared and alone and so damn  _ helpless _ that Joyce can’t help but protect her. 

“Come here, honey,” Joyce says softly, putting a hand on Max’s shoulder and leading her to a kitchen chair before disappearing to fetch an ice pack. 

Tears are freely slipping down Max’s cheeks when Joyce enters the kitchen again, and it’s one too many times in the last few years that she’s seen a kid hurting and been able to do nothing to stop it.

“Here, sweetheart,” she says gently, handing Max the ice pack. She wipes her face and takes it, pressing it to her eye. Joyce takes a seat beside her. 

“Honey,” she says, and Max looks up, one scared blue eye boring into Joyce’s soul. “I’m going to ask you a question, and I really want you to answer me honestly, okay?”

“Mrs. Byers—” Max tries before Joyce cuts her off. 

“Max.”

Max goes silent. 

“Is someone at home hurting you?” Joyce asks, and Max’s silence stretches even longer. 

“I’m okay, Mrs. Byers,” Max says with a weak smile after a few seconds. Joyce doesn’t buy it for a minute. 

“Sweetie, you live two streets over. Why didn’t you go home when you got hurt?”

Max doesn’t answer. 

“I’ve been there, honey,” Joyce says. “Really, I have.”

Max looks up at her, blue eyes curious. 

“Jonathan and Will’s dad was… he was a high school fling. He wasn’t fit for being a husband or a dad,” Joyce tells her. “And Max, sweetie, I know better than anyone how hard it is to tell someone what’s happening at home. But I need to make sure you’re okay.”

Max blinks back tears. “It was my stepdad,” she says quietly.

Joyce nods, a silent gesture for Max to go on. 

“He used to hit Billy, but he’s not, y’know,  _ around _ anymore,” she explains. “He came home drunk, but I swear, it’s the first time he’s hit me.”

“Does he say things to you?” Joyce asks softly. “Call you names? Because I know you can talk yourself into thinking that words can’t do much harm, but I swear, they do.”

“Not me so much—Mrs. Byers, I swear. He—he was bad with Billy, and sometimes he says things to my mom, but—”

“If you ever need help, you  _ know _ you can always come here,” Joyce says. 

Max nods. “Thank you, Mrs. Byers,” she says, and wraps Joyce in a tentative hug. 

Joyce hugs back with one arm, smoothing down Max’s curls with the other. 

“Please, honey,” she says, “Call me Joyce.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> All mistakes are my own, please let me know if you see any!
> 
> Kudos/Comments are greatly appreciated!


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